


wine red

by multi_fandom_gay_writer



Series: Supernatural [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Supernatural
Genre: 6 thousand words, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Boys Kissing, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Changed Rules, Dark Jack Kline, Dean Winchester is Older Than Castiel, Dean Winchester is Protective of Sam Winchester, Death, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Gay Castiel (Supernatural), Gay Character, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, Hunger Games has changed rules, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt Sam Winchester, I Don't Even Know, I broke the rules, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by The Hunger Games, Jack Kline is Castiel's Cousin, Kissing, M/M, Minor Character Death, POV Dean Winchester, Plot Twists, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Older Brothers, Sam Winchester is Not Okay, Slow Build, Slow Build Castiel/Dean Winchester, Slow Burn, i promise i didnt mean for it to be this dark, im sad, kind of slow burn, legit, thats a lie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 21:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19980643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multi_fandom_gay_writer/pseuds/multi_fandom_gay_writer
Summary: Years after the Peeta and Katniss debacle, the districts came together as one once again. The Hunger Games still happened, but there were changes. For example, if the Victors had children, they were automatically saved from the Reaping. There would still be Quarter Quells, the age changed from ages twelve to twenty, and so on. There weren’t just 12 men and 12 women in the arena, though. That was changed.The President stood at a podium, one giant glass circle of paper with names on it off to her right side. Everyone from ages twelve and twenty were sweating and trembling, maybe both. They didn’t want to die. Hopefully this would end. One day it would. After the speech, the President stuck her hand in the glass ball.--------------Dean Winchester was put into the Hunger Games with Castiel and other children/young adults. The new President had changed rules and reunited their country.





	wine red

**Author's Note:**

> I am so fucking sorry. Just please enjoy and yell at me later
> 
> If there are any spelling mistakes, please tell me and I'll fix it!
> 
> Also, I am so sorry for changing the rules. It's just for this fic.

Everyone gathered around the giant stage in the capital of Sostren -- Panem. Years after the Peeta and Katniss debacle, the districts came together as one once again. The Hunger Games still happened, but there were changes. For example, if the Victors had children, they were automatically saved from the Reaping. There would still be Quarter Quells, the age changed from ages twelve to twenty, and so on. There weren’t just 12 men and 12 women in the arena, though. That was changed. The President stood at a podium, one giant glass circle of paper with names on it off to her right side. Everyone from ages twelve and twenty were sweating and trembling, maybe both. They didn’t want to die. Hopefully this would end. One day it would. After the speech, the President stuck her hand in the glass ball and pulled out names for group -- or District -- one.

Looking over the two names, she nodded. “Representing District One is Dean Winchester, age eighteen, and Castiel Novak, age sixteen.”

The two teens walked up as quiet golf claps followed them, planting their feet on the wooden surface as they smiled weakly at each other. If people looked closely enough, they would realize that their fingers were crossed. They both had brothers -- Dean with a younger brother and Castiel with older brothers -- that they didn’t want in the arena. They weren’t going to hurt them.

“For District Two -- we have a surprise,” the President interrupted herself, looking to the two men on the stage. “Representing District Two, we have fourteen year old Sam Winchester and nineteen year old Gabriel Novak.”  The two already on stage felt their faces pale even more than before. Fate fucked them over. When Sam and Gabriel were on stage, Dean and Castiel rushed over and hugged them close. No one but Dean could see it or hear it, but Sam was crying.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” a small whimper came from pressed against Dean’s chest, teary eyes looking up at him.

“We won’t have to hurt each other, Sammy,” Dean promised, smiling sadly. “I won’t hurt you. I won’t let _anyone_ hurt you.” Dean found his parent's faces in the crowds off to the side, promising silently to protect his brother, no matter the cost.

After the President cleared her throat and shot them a glare, they took their places again.

District Three had Bela Talbot and Anna Milton, both age nineteen. District Four had Jack Kline, Castiel’s fourteen year old cousin, and Charlie Bradbury, age fourteen. District Five had Garth Fitzgerald and Jo Harvelle, District Six had Ash Lindberg and Adam Milligan, all four who were sixteen. District Seven had twelve year old Kevin Tran and thirteen year old Jessica Moore, District Eight had twenty year old Meg Masters and Lilith Boecher; District Nine had Samandriel “Alfie” Johnston and Ruby Cortese. District Ten had twelve year old Ben Braeden and Becky Rosen. District Eleven had Tessa McKeon and Tasha Sheridan, and District Twelve had Eve Maxwell and Tasha’s sister, Kate.

After the Reaping, everyone went to say goodbye to their family, getting ready to load the train. Sam had a tight grip on Dean’s hand, who was standing next to his partner -- who could kill him if need be -- Castiel. Gabriel was comforting a dead silent cousin Jack who also had a tight grip on his hand.

“Kate, I’m scared,” Dean heard from behind him. It was Tasha, Kate’s sister. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone.”

Everyone was assuring one another until the door opened. Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel, and Jack stepped onto the train first, claiming seats all next to and across from each other. Everyone else filed in, and the train started. The rest of the country watched them leave. The small space was so thick with tension. No one wanted to be here. This could have ended ten years ago when the rules were changed, but they thought the population still needed to be shown that rebelling is _not_ and never will be welcome.

Dean nodded off at one point, his arm around Sammy. He heard a sandpaper rough voice tell him, “Goodnight,” and that was all.

Training went fast and was already over. They were all getting ready to kill each other. Sam, Gabriel, Castiel, and Dean made a plan. Run together towards the Cornucopia, gather as much as they could, and then split together once they came together behind the area.

Dean looked around and spotted Cas, Gabe, and Sam. Only mere spaces from each other. The minute was up as the horn blew, and everyone ran off towards the area.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriel run off towards a meeting area away from the Cornucopia, crouching down and waiting. Perfect. Castiel grabbed a backpack and some throwing knives and ran off towards Gabriel. That left Dean and Sam. He barely managed to grab a hold of the end of a knife when he was knocked to the ground. Anna was above him, a knife raised, ready to kill. They fought, rolled, and eventually, Anna got out of his grip, running. He grabbed a backpack and a hidden first aid kit, running towards the meeting spot.

When he crouched down, he saw Sam cradling his nose, blood seeping down his chin and onto the uniform.

“Ruby broke his nose over a basket of bread and took the bag he had,” Gabriel explained, glancing at Dean. “We need to set it or it’ll never heal properly.”

Castiel was able to set it. A cannon went off in the middle of it, making them tense up. Sam had to bite down on his light gray sleeve to stop from crying out and giving away their position. It took forever though. Dean and Gabriel, meanwhile, were looking through what they had. A water tap, knives, a quiver of arrows in one bag with some jerky, and still some medical supplies. 

_Not much,_ Dean thought, helping Sam off his ass.

“We need to find a spot to stay for the night. It’s already getting late,” Castiel’s voice broke through after they had been hiking for a while. “It’s happening almost too quickly, in my opinion.”

“You’re right,” Sam whispered, voice still groggy from crying earlier. “It was around 3 P.M. when we got in and it only took… maybe half an hour to set my nose?”

“We’ve been hiking for a couple hours, though. Maybe two and a half, two and forty-five minutes?” Gabriel questioned, focused on keeping his tracks quiet, only to be interrupted by a cannon going off. “Well, one gone.”

They were quiet for the rest of the trek. They found a spot in the forest where there was enough room for them to huddle around each other without being seen well due to the brush. Sam automatically slumped down against a log, closing his eyes.

“I’ll take first watch,” Gabe grunted. “Make sure he’s okay.”

No one argued. They were all fucking tired as all hell. Dean sat on the log a couple inches away from Sam, and Castiel sat on the floor next to Dean.

“This is already hell. Wanna place bets on who the cannons were for?” Cas’ rough voice broke the silence, looking between Dean and Gabriel, who was listening to the conversation.

“Meg and Ruby, maybe. Could be anyone but us,” Dean answered.

“Any of the ones under fifteen, besides Sam,” Gabe shot back, knife in hand.

“Probably," Castiel responded quietly.

It was quiet again until the anthem played, waking Sam up to look at the sky. There, along with ‘District Ten’ under his name, was a picture of twelve year old Ben. His poor mom. After him was a picture of thirteen year old Alfie. Two of the youngest.

“Jesus,” Sam mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“They were so young,” Cas whispered, hand twitching. “This game is bullshit. It isn’t even a _game_!”

“Calm yourself before you give us away,” Gabe snapped, but it was clear he was also angry.

After Gabriel switched out with Dean, he heard a scream for help. There was no cannon, though. Someone probably already going insane. That’s all the noise there was. No walking, no running, no voices. Hell, not even a light around them to indicate someone cooking. Dean was on watch until around four in the morning, when Cas shook his shoulder.

“Get some sleep, even if it’s only an hour, okay? We need to be rested.”

Dean didn’t argue. He fell asleep and slept as peacefully as he could on hard dirt. He was woken up by Sam. Half a piece of jerky was held in front of him, the other half clutched to his chest.

They were on the move again before lunch.

They were able to hunt a few squirrels and a bird or two, plucking the feathers and skinning the squirrels. They could cook it later when they found another place to stay. Once again, while hiking first thing in the morning, they heard a cannon from the other side of the arena. Good, not near them. Not even thirty minutes later, another one went off from their left. They all looked at each other, nodding silently agreeing to go to the right.

Around 2 P.M. -- according to Sam -- they heard another cannon and a small explosion that happened right before hand. The Cornucopia. They all stared at each other and Sam let out a small whimper, scooting closer to Dean, who in turn wrapped an arm around him.

“It’s okay, Sammy. I’m right here. I got you.”

He got a nod in response and a sympathetic clap on the shoulder from Gabriel.

“Big brother here is right, Sammy. We won’t let anyone get to you without getting to us first.”

Packing up their small space, they started moving towards the Cornucopia. Castiel reasoned that there could be supplies there that some people didn’t get, like a canteen or two, some more knives, maybe a bow for the lone quiver of arrows they had.  When they were shouldering their bags, a blonde chick ran out and tackled Gabriel. She had her hands wrapped around his neck, a furious look on her face. Shoving Sam towards Castiel, Dean ran forward and struggled to pull her off of him. When he did, he kept her latched in his arms, kicking and scratching.

“Sammy, stay away,” Dean grunted, looking with a raised brow until Sam was turned around, Castiel holding onto him. If they had to do it, they would stab her.

Gabriel didn’t hesitate taking what she had in her pockets. A canteen and sais. They let her go, watching her stumble the opposite way she came. They ran away as quietly as they could. About halfway there, another cannon went off.

They didn’t stop running until they got to the Cornucopia.

Later that evening after Cas put out the fire, the anthem played. Standing at the lip of the large metal tube, they watched the sky. Meg, from District Eight, Tessa, from District Eleven, and Bela, from District Three.  When Dean sat with Sam just inside the horn, knees touching, they heard Cas whisper from Gabe to come closer. Looking back, Dean saw Cas, who looked terrified curling up against Gabriel. Smiling sympathetically, he turned back.

“How ya doin’, Sammy?” he whispered, gently nudging his shoulder.

“Fine,” a small whisper barely left Sam’s thin lips before a cannon went off and a scream followed.

“Already? The small, fucking terrible tribute they gave just went away!” Cas cursed, curling in on himself more.

“Just rest, Cassie,” Dean heard Gabe whisper.

“Sammy, go back there. You need sleep more than me,” Dean commanded, raising his eyebrows when Sam went to protest. “Don’t argue.”

At around one A.M., Gabriel shook Dean awake. He had fallen asleep for a few minutes. Pointing to go back inside, Gabe plopped down where Sam had sat not even three hours earlier. Dean didn’t argue once again. He went and sat down next to Sam, holding his brother close. He would make sure he lived was the thought that ran through his mind before sleep ate him and the nightmares consumed him.

As they were looking carefully around the podiums for supplies that could’ve been dropped, they all jumped when the cannons went off again, near the edge of the forest. They stood straight, Dean pulling Sam behind him, weapons out. Jack -- Dean thought that was his name -- ran away as the craft came, stopping short when he saw them.

“Please don’t hurt me,” he sobbed, hands shooting up in the air. “Tasha just… she started foaming and choking and then the cannon went off…”

“Get over here before you draw attention, kid,” Dean hissed, keeping Sam behind him. “You won’t stay long if you try anything.”

Jack helped them look, finding a kukri wedged in the ground and a few scattered arrows. He shared the few pieces of jerky and blueberries -- he was well endowed with knowledge of poisonous and non-poisonous plants -- he had found the night before. When they were getting ready to go investigate where Jack ran from, the girl, Jo, from earlier ran across the grassy expanse, but she got too close to a podium, realizing her mistake too late. Barely managing to turn Sam away from the explosion of her body, he covered his mouth and gagged. There was blood _everywhere_ and it took all his willpower to not puke then and there.

“Sammy, don’t turn around yet. Come on, guys, let’s get inside and hide,” Dean commanded, turning around, only to see Sam crying. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay. You don’t have to see it. You won’t have to ever. Okay?” All Sam did was nod, before running inside to cower in a corner.

Not even twenty minutes after Jo had _finally_ been cleaned up, the anthem started. Sam stayed inside with Jack while the older three went to watch the ‘memorials.’ Garth, District Five, Tasha, District Eleven, and Jo, District Five, also.

“Poor Ellen,” Dean whispered, holding his stomach. Ellen was a family friend and she had just watched her only child die. “This needs to stop.”

“Don’t you know it,” Gabriel whispered, quickly turning around to tell Jack that if he wanted to stay the night, he was on watch.

When Dean slumped against the wall, Sam scurried across the floor to curl against his brother. Castiel was on the other side of Dean, only a few inches away, watching Jack talk to Gabe.

“Hey,” Dean whispered, catching Cas’ attention. “Stupid question, but how ya holdin’ up?”

“I’m holding up as much as one can in this situation,” the sixteen year old responded, sighing. “Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if the Districts back then had never rebelled?”

Dean didn’t answer right away. “Yeah,” he finally murmured, nodding. “It’s their fault we just watched… that.”

Cas nodded, turning his head away again. End of discussion. Dean didn’t mind. Gabriel came back inside a bit, falling asleep as Jack kept watch. Dean couldn’t seem to fall asleep as easily as everyone else, though. He did, eventually. Nightmares welcomed him with open arms.

No cannons woke Dean up. No, it was Castiel shaking him and hissing that Gabriel was gone and so were some of their weapons. Still enough for the four of them, but just barely.

“Fuck,” Dean seethed, waking Sam up. “Why would he do that, Cas? He’s  _ your  _ brother. _Why?"_

“How the hell should I know, Dean?”

Dean didn’t answer. He huffed and stomped out of the Cornucopia, pacing back and forth, being careful to not step on a landmine like Jo did. Castiel paraded past him to a small stream just to the left of the grass, trying to stab fish with Jo’s sais they acquired earlier. Turning back, Dean saw Jack rubbing Sam’s shoulder, whispering. The whole day, no cannons interrupted the tense atmosphere around them. No other people did, either. Just past lunch, Castiel started a fire and cooked some squirrel and a fish. They ate in silence except for Sam and Jack, the latter teaching Sam about berries and plants.

When the anthem came and went, no pictures of dead contestants appeared. Dean made sure Sam and Jack went to sleep before squatting next to Castiel. Soft, almost kitten like snores came from Jack, and besides crickets, those were the only noises.

“Hey, man. I’m sorry about earlier,” Dean muttered, titling his head to look at Castiel. “It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk. Just thought I would come say that.” When Dean went to stand up, a hand wrapped around his wrist, keeping him from walking back inside.

“It’s fine. Just… please stay with me for a little longer,” Cas pleaded quietly, avoiding eye contact.

Dean obliged, sitting down just a little closer than usual.

Dean opened his eyes, shielding his eyes somewhat to avoid getting blinded by the sun. Sam and Jack weren’t that close, instead looking at the shrubs next to the small stream, searching for berries and roots they could eat. Cas was curled up next to him, his breath fanning Dean’s nose. Suddenly, he heard Sam and Jack make a noise of surprise as they looked up, watching a small package come down. When Dean went to investigate, it was fresh water in case they had to leave the Cornucopia soon. Jack whispered to Dean they _would_ have to leave soon because no cannons went off that morning and it was almost noon. That made Dean’s insides twist. It _had_ been quiet lately. Almost too quiet.

When Cas woke up a few minutes later, they ate a few berries and started to walk away from the center. Halfway through the hike, Dean felt Cas’ pinky brush against his. He didn’t flinch away, just embraced it and wrapped his own finger around the other one. They didn’t say anything, just watched Jack and Sam walking a few paces ahead of them.

That night was uneventful so far. Gabriel didn’t show up, no cannons were heard, and it was a night of no pictures in the sky.

But right as they were settling in for the night, back in the grove from the first night, a cannon went off from the Cornucopia. They had left just in time to get away. Castiel grunted and turned over, almost falling asleep before a package fluttered down in front of his face. When he groaned and opened it, his expression lightened up. It was food; crackers and cheese and small slices of meat. He closed it and said that they would share it in the morning.

Dean heard Sam whimpering in his sleep as he took watch. A cannon had just gone off. Dean had grown accustomed to the sound, yet his baby brother hadn’t. Jack shifted in his sleep, sitting up on his elbow and gently shushing Sam back to a peaceful slumber. Dean smiled in acknowledgement when a sleepy Jack looked at him before laying his head down again.

Without meaning to, Dean had fallen asleep. Opening his candy apple green eyes, he looked around the area. Panic had set in.

Sam and Jack weren’t around and Castiel was still asleep.

Shooting up and looking around, he scurried across the hard-packed dirt, gently smacking Cas awake. When Dean noticed unfocused eyes were open, he forced his teammate up.

“What’s wrong, Dean?”

“Jack and Sammy are gone. No cannons went off. Their weapons are gone and so is some of the food.”

“Dean, calm down. Maybe they went to use the bathroom?” Castiel tried -- he honestly tried -- to calm Dean down, to no avail.

“No, Cas. We need to go find them  _ now _ .”

So they packed up, ate a couple crackers each, and started a pace that showed they were worried. Dean’s parents were probably worried if they didn’t stay up all night to watch the T.V. and they saw what happened to Sam.

Around noon, they set up camp to eat a small lunch near the Cornucopia. A cannon had gone off around here and they watched an aircraft struggle to clean up the mess like they did with Jo. Whoever it was, Dean hoped they were in a better place now.

“That’s just sick… You think they would know not to walk so close to the podiums we were on,” Cas shook his head when the craft left.

“No shit.”

As they were washing their hands with some of the water in a canteen they still had, another cannon had gone off to their right. They hectically finished and ran quietly, footsteps light. They needed to stay hidden in case someone heard them.

_ If that was Sam, I will  _ **_lose_ ** _ it,  _ Dean thought as they slowed down, far enough away from the sound.

When the anthem started for the umpteenth time, they stepped out from under a rock ledge they found, watching the sky. Dean latched onto Castiel’s hand, other hand having his fingers crossed. Please not Sammy. Please not Sammy.

Jessica from District Seven. Becky from District Ten. Charlie from District Four.

And Gabriel, from District Two.

Dean felt Cas tense up, his hand falling pliant in his own. Looking over, he saw tears falling silently down Cas’ cheeks, plump lips quivering. Turning Castiel around gently, he engulfed him in a hug, feeling salty tears hitting his neck.

“Shh… it’s okay, Cas,” Dean whispered, his own heart beating rapidly. “It’ll all be okay.”

That night, neither of them stayed on watch. Dean held Cas against his chest as tears dried and silent sobs turned into hiccups. For once in the arena, nightmares stayed away. Now, it was just blackness and a feeling to protect the younger man in his arms.

That morning, Dean wakes up to a cannon after a couple morning of not doing so. It sounded so close and it rattled his eardrums. When he got out from under the rock, he saw Castiel standing over a body -- it was Lilith. His shoulders were shaking and his body was tense.

“Cas… come on, buddy. Let’s search through her shit and leave,” Dean slowly approached.

Castiel had strangled her with her own rope. They took the rope again and her knife. They needed to kill a few more squirrels, and they did. They sat in silence as they skinned the small critters. When they were done, they put them in an empty bag they had and set off again, hand in hand.

It hadn’t been more than two and a half hours when three cannons from the other side of the arena went off, one after another. As Dean and Cas stood there, silent, they shared the same thought. What if it was Sam?

The embers of their fire were barely visible. Dean had gone to take a leak and when he came back, he sat next to Cas. The younger of the two had his gaze focused on the brightest patch of ashes, hand shaking where they clasped each other in front of him. Gently and slowly to show no harm, Dean put his right hand over them. When Castiel looked at him, it sent a pain through Dean’s body. Blue eyes were wet with tears and his hair was a mess from running his hands through it constantly. Worst of all was the trembling in his lips again.

Dean realized he wanted nothing more than to kiss them still.

The thought didn’t irk Dean. In fact, he welcomed it. He convinced Cas to grab hold of his hand and to lean against his side as they waited for the anthem to start and show who the other four deaths were in the arena.

“Dean?” Cas whispered hoarsely.

“Hm?”

“What are we gonna do if we find Sam and Jack?”

“Find out why they left, first of all. Then, if we can trust them,” Dean paused, feeling like shit that he didn’t trust his own brother. “They can join us again.”

All was quiet until the anthem started. It seemed almost louder than usual. Hands clenched tighter together like last night, they watched faces pass.  Lilith, from District Eight, Ruby from District Nine, Ash from District Six, and Anna from District Three. Dean felt his chest tighten in relief and joy as he cupped a hand over his mouth to stifle a sob.

Sammy was still alive.

When chartreuse eyes met ultramarine ones, something in the air changed. Dean’s hand fell from his mouth as his lips parted slightly. His eyes flickered down to Cas’ lips, quickly snapping up to search for any indication that Castiel  _ didn’t  _ want this. Nothing showed he didn’t. He slowly leaned in to give Castiel a second chance, but instead of backing up, he surged forward and their lips met and  _ oh my god.  _ They were so soft and they fit so perfectly with Dean’s.  A shaky hand cupped Cas’ cheek, the other staying latched between them. When they parted, Dean smiled so acutely that it almost went unnoticed by Castiel, most likely.

“That was… that was nice,” Cas whispered, a small breath of relief leaving Dean’s body.

“It was.”

That night, they went to sleep again without cannons waking them up and without staying up to watch for the other players.

The next morning, Dean woke up before Cas again. Eyelashes brushed soft cheekbones and Dean smiled. He loved waking up like this and he thought that he wanted to wake up to this more often.

He eventually did wake Castiel up, mumbling that they needed to go find Sam and Jack. They didn’t mention the kiss from the night before, but they both seemed a little more… lighter. They ate the rest of the crackers, cheese, and meat before they went bad and set out.  They stopped around an hour later when they heard a twig snap. They looked at each other and nodded, pulling out a knife each. Quiet as a mouse, they started moving forward, alert and on their toes.

When they saw shaggy brown hair from behind, they stopped. Dean dropped his knife and whispered, “Sammy?”

Sure enough, there Sam was. When he turned around, Dean wanted to hurl. There were fresh cuts on his baby brother’s face, dried blood clinging around the edges. His lip was split and his nose was now free of the constraint, bleeding all over his brownish red stained gray uniform. Without hesitating, Dean ran forward and wrapped his brother in a hug. Thin, shaky arms clung onto Dean’s own shirt, shoulders shaking. Sam was crying. Who made him cry? It pissed Dean off that he had let himself be so irresponsible that-

“You need to go. Both of you. He’s gonna be back soon,” Sam whispered, eyes wide and terrified.

“Who?” Cas interjected.

“Jack.”

As if on queue, Jack’s voice came from a few feet away.

“Sam? Everything okay?”

“Yeah! Just… cut my hand trying to get berries. Don’t worry!”

Without warning, Jack walked into the tiny clearing, eyes widening at the pissed off Dean and Castiel in front of him.

“Oh… I-I can explain,” Jack chuckled nervously. “We… we were gonna go to the bathroom and these… these people came at us…”

“That’s a lie,” Sam interjected, glaring at Jack. “He told me that he overheard you and Cas talkin’ about how you were gonna kill me. I didn’t wanna leave but he  _ made  _ me,” Sam hissed.

Dean saw red slowly inching into his vision. Jack turned and ran. Dean didn’t hesitate to hurry after him, determined to do something to this little psychopath in the making. When he finally caught up, he tackled the short-stack, pinning him to the ground. Light blue eyes were filled with fear as Dean raised his knife, slicing a cheek still plump with a little baby fat. Suddenly, he was pulled off of Jack.

“Let Sam do it if you want to kill him, Dean,” Cas whispered, taking Dean’s knife.

Jack was holding his cheek and sobbing as Sam stood over him.

“Now you know how it felt when you did that to me when  _ I  _ tried to run from you, jackass,” Sam spat, left hand trembling as he pulled out his knife. “You  _ deserve  _ this.”

Wincing when he heard Jack’s body hit the ground and the cannon sounding, Dean felt something on his face. He was crying. He thought his baby brother was dead this whole time.

“C-Come on. We have to go,” he finally mumbled as he heard the whir of the aircraft.

After sitting for a while, a voice filled the arena, telling them about the Feast. Castiel and Sam shook his head, telling Dean no when he stood up.

“We don’t need to go, Dean,” Sam whispered.

They were right. So, they sat there and cooked a squirrel for each of them. The silence was welcomed. They all licked their fingers to savor the food and stomped out the fire, each taking a swig of water.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, two more cannons went off.

“Who all was left after Jack?” Cas asked Sam, looking down at the boy.

“There was… Kevin and Adam… us… Eve, and Kate, I think.”

“So it was one of them,” Dean nodded, sighing in relief. They were safe for now.

That night, they were all sat on a giant rock, watching the pictures. Kevin, Adam, and Jack. They would all be missed and they were someplace better.

“Dean, I’m gonna sleep,” Sam whispered, stretching his arms.

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite, dude.”

Letting out a dry laugh, Sam stalked off towards the small blanket he had grabbed from Jack.

“I’m glad he’s okay, Dean,” Cas smiled, kissing Dean’s cheek when Sam’s breathing evened out.

“Me too, Cas. Me too.”

When the morning came, they all stalked off towards the Cornucopia again. A cannon had gone off. Kate or Eve. One against three-

Three. One of them had to die. Dean shook his head. They could pull a Peeta and Katniss, right?

When they stepped foot on the grass, they saw Kate there. She had a throwing knife in her hand and a sneer on her face.

“I’m going home. None of you can kill me, understand? I’m the one with the advantage here,” she hissed, deciding which one to kill.

“Don’t kill them. Kill me,” Dean offered, stepping forward. “You are  _ not  _ killing Sammy.”

“You think so?” Kate questioned. “Why should I not kill him or your boy toy now?”

Before Dean could answer, a knife was thrown at Kate, hitting her in the left arm. She screamed in agony, pulling the knife out of her arm.

Sam threw it.

“You little dick!” she screamed, throwing the knife and hitting Sam square in the right pec. Sam fell to the ground with a cry of agony, clawing at his chest.

“Sam!” Dean screamed, falling to his knees next to Sam. He grabbed Sam’s cheeks between his hands, already sobbing.

Sam’s face was rapidly paling, the injuries Jack induced standing out on his face. His normally tawny eyes were dimming so quickly that Dean could get whiplash from it. Sam had stopped clawing at the knife and just left it. A hand weakly placed itself on Dean’s, trembling. It was so cold.

“Sammy… Sammy, stay with me, please,” Dean sobbed, applying pressure to the wound to stop the rapid gush of blood. “We’re gonna get home and you’re gonna get some help… okay? You’re gonna be okay.”

Sam shook his head. “No… no. Dee, you’re the one going home, okay? Tell...tell mom and dad I love them, please…” he coughed, though it sounded like a wheeze.

“No. You’re going home with Cas and I. We can do… we can do what Peeta and Katniss did! Come on, bud. Come on. Stay with me.”

“I love you, Dee… I’m sorry…” Sam’s face lolled to the side, cold and immobile in Dean’s lap.

The cannon sounded.

Dean cried out, taking the knife out of Sam’s body, turning to Kate and throwing it at her. It hit her in the throat, knocking her to the ground. He couldn’t care. When the craft came to take Kate, it didn’t just take Sam. It took all three of them.

When Dean woke up in a cold panic induced sweat, he looked around. He wasn’t in the arena. He was in a room.

Sam.

He got out of the bed as quickly as he could, throwing the door open.

“Sammy?!” Dean screamed, looking down the halls. When he heard a door open on the left side of him, he ran right. He needed to find his brother.

“Sam!” Dean shouted again, running from the footsteps behind him.

He threw open the door marked infirmary, running through the room. At the end of the row, with so many machines attached to him that he was practically a robot, was Sam.

He was alive.

How?

Dean didn't care.

Falling to his knees, he immediately scrambled to his brother’s bed, being careful of the cords. He grabbed a sallow hand and held it to his mouth, letting the tears fall freely. Footsteps followed him into the dispensary, but he didn’t hear a voice. He heard choked off wails from a few beds down. When he turned to look, he saw the back of Castiel’s head and a dirty blond head.

“Cas?” he whispered raucously, shifting around on the floor.

“It’s Gabe, Dean,” he kept his back turned to Dean. “He’s been alive the whole time. Doctors said adrenaline or something stopped him from dying like… like Sam almost did. The knife missed a major artery.”

Dean let go of Sam’s hand, standing up and wincing at the crack his knees gave. When he reached Cas, he stood behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. He leaned into the touch and Dean was… contented.

“I’m happy they’re alive, Cas. My only problem is what will the public say? Last time more than one or two people lived, there was a whole… war. This if  _ four  _ people alive,” Dean’s eyebrows furrowed and he nosed at Cas’ neck, making Cas chuckle.

“We’ll wait to see what the President says…”

_ He heard the plunge of the knife as it embedded itself into Sam’s chest. He heard the small grunt. He heard his heart speed up as adrenaline filled his body. He heard the pawing Sam was currently doing to ground himself. He heard the laughter Kate was letting loose into the world. He heard his knees scream in agony when he fell, trying to save his brother. His world was going in slow motion. When his hand applied pressure to the wound, he wanted to pull the knife out. He desperately wanted to save his brother. But he couldn’t. His hands were stained red and his brother’s body was cold. The cannon rang in his ears and that’s when he snapped. _

_ He grabbed the knife from Sammy’s small body and turned to Kate. He didn’t hesitate to throw it towards her, not caring where it landed, just as long as it killed her. _

_ And it did. _

_ Him and Cas won. _

Dean woke up in a cold sweat with a scream, hands clasped in the tangled sheets. His eyes were wide open and his head was snapping from side to side. No. Sam was okay. He was. He knew he was. When a tentative knock sounded on the door, he clambered to it and opened it. It was Cas.

“Hey… everything okay? I heard you scream,” he susurrated, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Nightmare.”

Cas opted to stay with Dean that night and the older was pleased with that decision. He was held close to Castiel’s chest and a hand was rubbing his back, the other playing with his hair. He fell asleep like that and no more nightmares came that night.

The public’s reaction to Gabriel and Sam being alive was more… accepted. As long as the two main victors were happy and content, so were they. They also took well to Castiel and Dean’s relationship. Sam had to rely on Dean to help him with certain things at the start of his life being back at the house after the arena, and Dean didn’t mind. He wanted his little brother to be safe and as long as he was safe, so was Dean.  Castiel would come over every day with Gabriel, who stayed with Sam. The two seemed to hit it off and they placed bets on when the two would get together, if they ever did. Mary and John took a liking to Cas and Gabe. They practically lived there every weekend. They were just happy to have Dean and Sam back.

All was good and safe again.

They were good and safe, too.

They always would be.

**Author's Note:**

> a comment and kudos would be appreciated! have a good day!


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